Present day electronic security systems provide locking mechanisms that employ a combination of hardware and software. Such security mechanisms use PIN (Personal Identification Number) codes, sensors, smartcards, biometrics and a combination of the same in order to increase the levels of security provided by the security systems.
Present day security systems employ a single, two or three factor authentication. In single factor authentication the user is required to enter a PIN (Personal Identification Number). In two factor authentication the user is expected to insert a smartcard and enter the PIN. In three factor authentication the user is expected to produce a smartcard, enter a PIN and also provide a biometric, such as a fingerprint, to authenticate herself.
Further, some of these systems also operate under the custodianship of multiple persons, because with the increase of the number of persons controlling the security system, the level of security provided to the system increases. Since the system would require all the persons to be physically present to provide access to the system the level of security of the system is increased. Each person would physically authenticate the other persons. No one person would be able to access the security system independently. However, there are limitations associated with the existing multiple party systems. For example, in case of personal bank locker, all parties are to be physically present at the site for the operation of the locker. Even if one among the parties is not present at the site of the locker, the locker cannot be operated. This limitation could prove to be cumbersome in many scenarios. For example, if such a security system is employed at the loading bay of an ATM machine, then the parties controlling the access to the system have to be all present at the ATM machine at the same time.
In addition, if scalability of the security of the system is to be increased by adding more people controlling the lock or the same person is to be deployed at multiple locations, the requirement of physical presence of the people controlling the lock does not easily support the same.